Stone introduces new Research Education White Paper
16 January 2012
Stone announces the second Stone Group
ICT in Education Report, a survey conducted in December 2011 across
over 100 ICT decision-makers in the UK primary and secondary
education sectors, including academies.
Research highlights:
• 83% of schools are facing 'real term' ICT budget cuts in
2012, and a third of those are expecting a cutback of over
20%.
• 70% of those expecting a budget decrease expect the
reduction to adversely affect the learning ability of their pupils
and 97% of all respondents recognised that the quality of their
current ICT facilities were likely to cause frustration in the
learning environment.
• Despite the growing expansion of ICT use and dependence in
all areas of the curriculum, even before the budget cuts, 91% of
schools are still unable to provide dedicated access to a laptop/
PC for all of their pupils, with over half of respondents only able
to provide a laptop or PC to fewer than 25% of their
pupils.
• These budget cuts and lack of access to ICT are against a
backdrop of 81% of respondents believing that the quality of the
learning environment is actively improved if pupils are provided
with dedicated access to a laptop/ PC at school.
The study, undertaken by independent market research
organisation, Redshift Research, on behalf of Stone, has shown a
frustration within the UK education sector where ICT budgets are
being dramatically reduced, despite ICT access being widely
recognised as fundamental to pupils' ability to learn. Over 80% of
respondents anticipate an ICT budget decrease in the next financial
year, a third of whom expect to lose more than a third of their
budget, and 70% of respondents expect the cuts to have a negative
impact on their pupils' ability to learn.
With such a reliance on ICT within UK education - 81% of
respondents believing that the quality of the learning environment
is actively improved if pupils are provided with dedicated access
to a laptop/ PC at school - the imminent budget cuts are all the
more galling for pupils' ongoing ability to learn as effectively
and rapidly as possible.
Commenting on these findings, James Bird, Chief Executive of
Stone says: "While it is widely accepted that modern and
comprehensive ICT facilities are essential for the best learning, a
key challenge for Head Teachers and Financial Directors across the
UK education sector will be to find new opportunities for flexible
financing in light of 2012's budget cuts."
The findings highlight that the main challenges to delivering
technology in schools or colleges in 2012 will be in upgrading
existing hardware. As a result, 45% of respondents will prioritise
spending on desktops to accommodate their budget reduction.
This investment is intended to improve the current
pupil-to-device ratio in UK schools and academies. 91% of
respondents are unable to provide dedicated access to a laptop/ PC
for all of their pupils and in more than half (54%) of those
surveyed, fewer than a quarter of pupils had access at all.
Bird continues, "Schools and colleges have to manage a large
reduction in their capital budgets and as a result the deployment
of new classroom equipment has virtually ceased, leaving the vast
majority of schools frustrated. Head Teachers, Business Managers
and Bursars are understandably cautious; this is the first full
financial year under the new regime and no organisation can afford
to make any investment mistakes."
However, despite a greater variety of financing options being
needed in order to help schools invest in ICT, over a quarter of
respondents (26%) have never considered using alternative finance
packages in order to facilitate ICT spending and as many as 13% are
entirely unaware of their existence.
Bird concludes, "No school wants to see its investment reduced
or endure a decline in teaching standards as a result of poor ICT
equipment and infrastructure. There is no 'one size fits all'
approach. The IT industry therefore needs to be innovative and more
forthcoming in explaining the range of financing options that will
support the very diverse needs of the UK's education system, moving
towards offering services than simply selling hardware."
